Music streaming service iTunes radio will be hitting English speaking countries, like the UK, Australia, in early 2014, Bloomberg report. If the reports are true, then Apple are making their move before their rival, Pandora.

The service will curate musical playlists for you

The news comes after Apple reached agreements for international rights with the Universal Music Group and other record labels, something Pandora can’t do; the Oakland-based company relies on rights granted by governments, which limits its offering to the US, Australia and New Zealand currently.

"One of our top priorities is to bring iTunes Radio obviously here in the UK but everywhere in the world," Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue told AP last week. "We certainly want to be in more than 100 countries." (Bloomberg)

iTunes radio only debuted in America in September, providing 300+ specially curated radio stations. Not unlike LastFM, the service personalises stations to the user’s preferences, but individuals can edit their stations on the go and build their own.

The timeframe within which Apple are operating is not dissimilar to their iTunes launch, which changed the face of music consumption across the world. They launched the revolutionary software – which would see a bona fide store swell its ranks – in the U.S before rolling out to the UK and Australia not long after.

iTunes Match rolled out to UK. users in December 2011, following a November U.S. launch that same year, meaning the reports of iTunes Radio becoming available in early 2014 are most likely on the button.